Indie movies may have found hope, but not salvation, by buying into the trend of video-on-demand (VOD). "For most independent movies, video-on-demand will be far and away the largest source of revenue in the future,” co-owner of Magnolia Pictures, Mark Cuban, told The Wrap.

This is pretty cool. Fresh off earning a well-deserved Spirit Award nomination yesterday for his portrayal of Ernest Hemingway in "Midnight in Paris," Corey Stoll will be reading selections from "The Letters of Ernest Hemingway: Volume 1, 1907-1922" at a special forum held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. The forum is titled “Hemingway’s Letters: From Childhood to Paris” and will take place after a screening of "Midnight in Paris" on Dec. 11. For more details and to register, go here. To read my recent profile of the scene-stealing actor from this year's "Actors to Watch" issue, go here.

• "Beginners" and "The Tree of Life" both won best feature at the 21st Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. Check it out at Back Stage and Deadline. Also, "Margin Call" was named best first feature by the New York Film Critics Circle, which announced its award winners via Twitter feed.

• Just like Netflix, Microsoft is looking to break into the scripted television industry, reported Deadline.

• Two emmy-winning CBS stars will be headlining shows in New York next year: Jim Parsons of "The Big Bang Theory" will portray Elwood in the Broadway revival of "Harvey" this spring and Alan Cumming of "The Good Wife" will play every role in a National Theater Scotland production of "Macbeth." According to The New York Times, the one-man show will come to Lincoln Center from July 5 through 14.

• Entertainment Weekly discusses a new book about Hedy Lamarr, a beautiful actress from the 1930s and 1940s who was also a brilliant scientist. I'm calling that there will be a movie based on this book within five years and may actually be good.

Those New Yorkers like to get a jump on things. Awards season kicked off last night with the Gotham Awards, honoring indie films, and the big news was that "Beginners"--starring Christopher Plummer as a man who comes out to his son late in life--not only tied for Best Feature (with "The Tree of Life") but bested casts like "The Descendants" to take Best Ensemble. Does this mean Focus Features should be pushing for more than just the expected Best Supporting Actor slot for Christopher Plummer? Full list of winners after the jump.

And this morning, the New York Film Critics Circle announced their winners. The big news is Meryl Streep landed her first win for "The Iron Lady," and Brad Pitt scored some recognition for "Moneyball." But it's the supporting choices I'm most happy with: the stunning Jessica Chastain for her trio of hits ("The Help," "Take Shelter," "The Tree of Life") and Albert Brooks for his outstanding, funny, scary work in "Drive."

Best Director went to Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist," which also won Best Picture.

This might be the most commercial year of the Film Independent Spirit Awards yet. Sure, the show often has some Oscar crossover (witness Natalie Portman's win last year for "Black Swan"), but most of the nominees this year are all films people have actually heard of.

The nominees, with commentary in some places.

BEST FEATURE

"The Artist"

"Beginners"

"The Descendants"

"Drive"

"50/50"

"Take Shelter"

All these films are or should be players in the Oscar race. And after doing well at last night's Gotham Awards, "Beginners" might emerge as a real player outside of just Supporting Actor.

BEST DIRECTOR

Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

Mike Mills, "Beginners"

Jeff Nichols, "Take Shelter"

Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"

Nicolas Winding Refn, "Drive"

At least two of these directors--Payne and Hazanavicius--will be on the Oscar list.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Joseph Cedar, "Footnote"

Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

Tom McCarthy, "Win Win"

Mike Mills, "Beginners"

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, "The Descendants"

Nice to see "Win Win" getting some love here, though I wish it had earned a picture nod.

BEST FIRST FEATURE

"Another Earth"

"In the Family"

"Margin Call"

"Martha Marcy May Marlene"

"Natural Selection"

Wow--usually this is a list of unseen movies, but I've seen all of these except "In the Family." Tough call.

Would love to see these actors names on the Oscar list, but other than Dujardin and possibly Shannon, it's not likely. Interesting to note that George Clooney, a favorite for Oscar gold for "The Descendants," didn't make the cut.

Will a strike shut down the film and television industry next year? You would think so, if you read The New York Times last weekend. Citing statements made to members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees at a series of town hall–style meetings, the Times asserts that IATSE and allied craft unions covering behind-the-scenes personnel are facing a $500 million pension and health shortfall by 2015. The unions, which will bargain jointly on pension and health issues in the spring, are already tossing around tough talk about next year’s negotiations. “We’re going to be asking for a lot of money, lots of it,” the Times quotes IATSE president Matthew Loeb as telling Los Angeles Local 80 members in September.

Paying for television subscriptions is slowly becoming a way of the past, reported Deadline. According to a Credit Suisse-commissioned survey, young adults who have grown up, or are growing up in the digital age, don’t feel the need to purchase TV packages anymore since the Internet has proved that it can give them something familiar for free.